Franziska Gsell

As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and member of the Executive Board of IWC Schaffhausen, Franziska Gsell Etterlin heads the company’s Product Strategy and Marketing & Communications department. In this role, which she has held since early 2015, she leads more than 80 professionals in Product Strategy and Heritage, Brand Marketing (Campaigns, Digital, Content, Media), Corporate Communications (Events, PR, Sponsoring, Partnerships, Talent Marketing, Guest Relations), Brand Experience and Architecture at the IWC headquarters and more than 100 marketing specialists in more than 75 countries.

Franziska is responsible for developing and implementing IWC’s global brand identity and the product, marketing and communications strategy across all markets and channels. With client centricity at the core, her scope encompasses all off- and online activations, strategic partnerships, and ambassador management, as well as fostering relationships with key journalists and key opinion leaders tailored to IWC’s varied product universes and brand territories. In addition, Franziska is at the forefront of shaping the future of the IWC brand transformation, from the strategic positioning to the definition and implementation of the omnichannel roadmap and the creation of exciting new retail experiences. The customer centric projects comprise data modelling for customer relationship management to correlate product activation with target audience interests.

For more than seven years, Franziska has also been chairing IWC's Sustainability Committee, a topic close to her heart. Tasked with managing IWC’s social and environmental impact, the Committee is the driving force behind the company’s industry-leading, ambitious stance on most responsible watchmaking and transparency from sketchbook to wrist. Ensuring true leadership through purpose, the Committee secures that sustainability principles are integrated through every business decision. Since 2022 Franziska has been chairing the Sustainability Committee of Richemont’s (IWC’s parent company) luxury watch division.

After majoring in Business Administration and Marketing at Zurich’s University of Applied Sciences, Franziska took on her first commercial role in fashion. Before returning to her hometown of Schaffhausen to join IWC, she also served as CEO of a leading Swiss luxury hosiery and knitwear brand (Fogal), and as Marketing Director and Executive Board member of leading Swiss-based international food (Lindt) and beverage companies (Feldschlösschen/Carlsberg).

Since 2022 Franziska has been a non-executive board member for the Zurich Convention Center and has been on the board of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Switzerland. Since early 2024 Franziska supports Femella, an organization for young female professionals, in the Global Advisory Board.